Saying Goodbye
by Fallen Crest
Summary: On the Marauders last day at Hogwarts, as the Marauders get ready to leave Hogwarts forever in a spectacular way, McGonagall remembers the four trouble makers she helped mentor and how they changed from mischievous boys into respectable wizards.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

_Flashbacks_

**Saying Goodbye **

The Marauders were finally graduating. No one knew who was the happiest about this. The Marauders, the professors, or even the students. But they were finally leaving and taking all of their crazy antics with them. As soon as breakfast was over, the Marauders would be gone from Hogwarts and heading into the real world at long last.

And yet, despite that, the Marauders just sat at their table, eating their breakfast like everything was normal. Well, what was normal for them, which included loud laughter, teasing, James and Lily being all lovey-dovey, and the rest of the time cracking jokes. There wasn't even a final prank happening. It was completely peaceful.

And that was when it was the scariest for everyone, because they never knew whether something was going to happen or not. Was a prank going to take place today or not? Did Lily tame the Marauders enough to make sure a prank didn't happen on their last?

Yeah, wishful thinking and none of them actually believed that thought. The Marauders didn't stop pranking for anything. Not when Remus became Prefect. Not when James became Head Boy. And not even when James started dating Lily. Pranks were what the Marauders did. Nothing could stop them from doing them.

So what the hell were the Marauders waiting for?

They didn't just suddenly decide to grow up after last night feast, did they?

Everyone was getting twitching with the anticipation of what was to come. Even their very own Lily Evans was looking at the boys with a frown and wandering what they were waiting. Of course she was dating one of the Marauders, but that sure didn't entitle her to Marauders information, especially when it involved pranks. They kept that all on tight lockdown.

Even McGonagall was staring at her four Gryffindors. Though unlike most of the others, she was wearing a soft, sad smile. Those four boys had been huge troublemakers for her for seven years, and now they were finally leaving. She had counted the day down to when these troublemakers would finally leave, but now that it was here, she was sad to see them go. She would miss them and their crazy antics.

First there was James Potter. Her eyes landed on the little leader of his gang called Marauders. Well, he wasn't so little anymore. He grew into quite the handsome young man. From a trouble making bully who loved nothing but pranks, friends, belittling people, and Lily Evans, he grew into a strong, smart, kind, and a respectable young man. Instead of bullying anymore, he helped those who needed help and was still his naturally born leader self. He stuck by all his friends like always. And though he suffered just before his seventh year when his parents died of old age, James made it through it stronger and was there for his friends who suffered and the students who needed support and help. This change made him grow into an idol to the younger students who looked up to him for anything they needed.

"_Mr. Potter, I am sorry to hear about your parents." _

_James looked at his Professor, smiling sadly as he adjusted Head Boy badge on his robes. "Thank you, Professor, but it was really expected. They were old after all." He glanced down at his badge. _

_Professor McGonagall moved closer to her student in the corridor. "Are you alright, Mr. Potter?"_

_The Head Boy glanced at her, frowning thoughtfully before shaking his head and playing with his badge again. "Why did you give this to me? They were better people for the Head Boy position then me." _

"_You may not have the most wonderful record here, Mr. Potter, but you are still a brilliant, kind, young man. You are strong, courageous, brave, and just what the school needs as a Head Boy in these dark times." Professor McGonagall replied. _

_James smiled faintly. _

"_You started off rough and arrogant, bit a bully at times too, but you have grown much in the past year. I suppose the incident with Mr. Snape and Mr. Lupin had some to do with it." Professor McGonagall replied. "We have all seen how you changed from a bully after that incident into a respectable young man who goes around helping students and being such a strong support for your friends. There are others students in this school who can use a strong pillar like you as well." _

Then there was his mischievous best friend, Sirius Black. He was like the right hand man of the gang. He was the most reckless one of the Marauders. As a young eleven year old, he wanted nothing more then to rebel against his parents. First he became a Gryffindor, then broke the rules, pranked, bullied, and snuck around at night. He did everything he could to anger his parents. None of the teachers had any hope for him to grow up, but then he made the mistake of telling Snape how to get passed the Whomping Willow on the night of the full moon. After almost killing a fellow student and getting yelled at by James and Remus, Sirius reeled in his temper and lessened his reckless actions just a bit. The young Black escaped his family and became his own person. With his handsome looks, mischievous side, his intelligence and skill, and escaping from his family's reputation, Sirius was very respected.

"_Mr. Black?"_

_Sirius looked up sharply when he heard his professor's voice. He looked at her for a moment, but the cocky, mischievous light was missing from his eyes. "I'm sorry for being out after curfew, ma'am." _

_McGonagall frowned and approached her student. "Is there something wrong, Mr. Black?"_

_Sirius shook his head, glancing out the window of his professor's office. _

"_Then why are you in my office in the middle of the night?" McGonagall asked softly. _

_The Black heir shrugged. He looked down at his fingers, then up at his professor. "Remus and James hate me." _

_McGonagall looked surprised for a moment, before shaking her head and frowning. "What would give you that idea?"_

"_I almost killed Snape. I told him how to get to Remus on the night of the full moon. I almost made my best friend a murderer. I almost got James killed when he went to save Snape." Sirius buried his face in his hands. "I betrayed them and now they hate me." _

_McGonagall looked at her student sadly. Dumbledore had told her about that incident since it was her students involved in it. It was only a matter of time before a mistake was made by those reckless boys with their friend's secret. It was a hard secret to keep after all. "I do not believe either of them would abandon you over this." _

_Sirius looked up at her with a little bit of hope shining in his eyes. _

"_You four have been together since first year. They are disappointed in you because of your actions, but they could never hate you. Just give them time and while you do, reflect on your mistakes from that night." _

Next was little Peter Pettigrew. Many saw him as just a follower to Sirius and James because of his quiet nature and how he was unconfident at times when he is next to his three extremely intelligent friends. As a young boy, he was shy, nervous, unsure of everything, and just cheered his friends on. Though he did have his moments of bullying and was a respected member of the Marauders, if the way the other Marauders treated him were anything to go by. Though still not as powerful as his friends, he grew into a much more confident man and was more open about his thoughts. Though McGonagall thought that had something to do with Remus always taking time out of his schedule to help Peter whenever he needed it and telling him to speak up more often. Though not as well respected as his friends, he was respected.

"_What has happened, Mr. Pettigrew?"_

_Peter, who was still being treated by Madam Pomfrey, looked up at his Head of House. Instead of replying, he looked down at his hands which Madam Pomfrey were treated with a blush. _

_McGonagall took a seat at his bed and watched the nurse work on her fourth year Gryffindor's hands in silence. Not another word was said between any of them until Madam Pomfrey had finished bandaging his hands and walked away. When she was gone, Peter looked up at his professor with wide eyes. "I botched up my potion again and it got all over my hands." He ducked his head in embarrassment. _

"_It wouldn't be the first time that a student has struggled in potions. It is a difficult class." McGonagall replied, smiling kindly at her student. "Why not ask one of your friends to tutor you?"_

_Peter shrugged. "Remus struggles as well and James and Sirius…they wouldn't help me." _

_McGonagall raised a brow, finding that statement hard to believe. "Have you asked them?"_

_Peter shook his head. _

"_Peter, they are your friends. They do not wish to see you fail. Just ask them." McGonagall prompted. "The worse they will probably do is say no, but I do not see them doing that, at least not to a friend. You ask Remus for help, don't you? It will be the same thing as asking one of them." _

_The teenager glanced up at her with watery eyes. "You sure?"_

_McGonagall nodded, smiling. "Of course. Have more confidence in your friendship with them." _

And finally, the last Marauder. McGonagall moved her eyes onto Remus, who was reading a book even at his last breakfast at Hogwarts. Remus Lupin, the first Werewolf to ever make it to Hogwarts. When he first came to Hogwarts, he kept to himself and open spoke when spoken because he just didn't want to open up because of his condition. And his fear to open up was justified because the teachers were scared of him. None of them knew how to treat him or understood him. It wasn't until he somehow befriended Sirius and James that he began to open up and show his witty tongue and his charming smile. With those two as his friends, he grew more confident and became a mischievous little boy. He was from closed and quiet to open and confident so easily. And his confidence, charm, and strength only grew when his friends discovered his secret and stubbornly stayed by his side. When he became Prefect, his confidence grew even more, but he still didn't stop his friends from bullying but he did get them to tune it down a bit and that was better then nothing. And he never once abused his power. He stayed strong, confident, and respected the power the position gave him. He was one of the most respected students in the school because of his kind heart, intelligence, mischievousness, and his willingness to always help tutor the younger kids.

"_Why are you up here in the middle of the night, Mr. Lupin?"_

_Remus didn't reply. He just put his hands on the ledge and rested his chin on it. _

"_Mr. Lupin." McGonagall moved farther into the Astronomy Tower, staring at her student. "You know it is against the rules to be up here right now. I would hate to take away your Prefect badge when you only just got it." _

_Remus shrugged. _

_Sighing, McGonagall stopped next to her student and stared at the night sky. _

_Remus watched her from the corner of his eyes for a moment before looking back at the moon, which was almost full. "My father told me a day before we came back here that the werewolf that bit me was Fenrir Greyback. My dad insulted werewolves right in front of him so on the next full moon, Greyback attacked me and turned me into a werewolf for revenge. I was four!" He dropped his eyes to the ground. "Professor, I was four years old and I was used for revenge because an insult!"_

_McGonagall looked down at her student, who was now back to staring at the moon with a single tear trailing down his face that sparkled silver in the moonlight. _

"_Ever since he told me, I could do nothing but think, why? Why was it me he attacked? Why not my father? Was my life ruined just because of a petty insult? Why was I made to suffer like this?"_

_McGonagall did not reply. Her student did not want answers or for someone to try to justify anyone's actions. He wanted someone to lend an ear to his cries, and as always, she was more then willing to spend the night with her student, listening to his cries and wails, even if it did go on for hours. _

They had all grown into great young men, but despite the war raging outside the castle, they never let it get to them. They saw it and knew the dangers, but they put up a front for the school and kept everyone's spirits up with their pranks. The Marauders may think they fooled her, but she has been watching them for seven years, watching them grow, mentoring them, teaching them, being like a counsel when one of them had a problem. She saw through their masks. She knew they were scared, but also determined to face the danger out there.

And with all that darkness out there in the real world, the Marauders weren't going to miss their last chance to pull a prank. All the students were going to leave on a happy note today.

Seeing all the twitches and nervous, annoyed, or anxious glares being shot their way, Sirius couldn't help but smirk. Deciding that enough time had passed and noticing that all the Marauders had eaten, he nudged Remus's foot with his own. The werewolf didn't even blink or look up from his book at the sudden nudge. Without a change in his expression, he lifted his foot under the table and tapped James's knee. Acting as if nothing was wrong, James leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on Lily's lips while his hand moved behind him and slapped Peter's arm.

At the slap, Peter's hand fumbled and he knocked over his glass of pumpkin juice.

"Wormtail!" James shouted and he jumped to his feet. He pushed Lily down the bench to avoid the mess.

"Sorry, sorry!" Peter cried, pulling his wand out. "I've got it." When he went to vanish the juice, instead of getting rid of it, the juice changed into smoke that filled the whole Great Hall.

Sighing, but still with a smile, McGonagall stood up. "MARAUDERS!" She screamed.

Dumbledore chuckled and popped another lemon drop, which he received from the Marauders last night, into his mouth. Despite all those boys bullying ways when they were younger, they were still remarkable young men. All of them had always been kind and caring. They just didn't always show it in the right way or got bored too easily so they went into their horrible ways. But Dumbledore knew. He had always known that those boys had kind hearts and just liked to have a little fun, which was the purpose of their pranks. That, and the Marauders found their pranks a good way to spread a little bit of laughter in these dark times.

From the smoke came four loud bangs. Four golden lights shot out of the smoke from different directions. The gold lights zipped around the Great Hall, bouncing off the walls and when it hit a student, the student laughed as if being tickled before it bounced off the student.

From the smoke, James and Remus jumped out of it and onto different tables. Remus landed on the Ravenclaw table and James on the Hufflepuff table. They both raised their wands to the ceiling and smirked at each other from across the hall.

"Seven years have come and gone for us!" Remus started, grinning as he looked around the hall. "And it has sure been a crazy seven years. Don't you guys agree?"

All the seventh year flew to their feet and cheered loudly at Remus's declaration, except for the few Slytherins.

"And now it is time for one last time of mischief!" James shouted. "Who's with us?"

This time all the students stood up, even a few Slytherins and cheered and clapped loudly.

"If you want a last bit of mischief, then all together!" James continued. "Raise your wand to the ceiling and cry 'I promise I'm up to no good!'"

McGonagall stood in front of the professor's table with her hands on her hips.

The students who were student withdrew their wands pointed their wands toward the ceiling.

"I promise I'm up to no good!" All the students shouted with some finishing sooner and some finishing later since it wasn't in sync.

With their promise, Sirius and Peter jumped out of the smoke and ran to opposite ends of the Gryffindor table. In their hands were little blue spheres that they tossed into the air. James and Remus pointed their wands at them and fired blue flames at them. The blue flames were so powerful that they not only engulfed the blue spheres, but surrounded the whole Great Hall. Quite a few students screamed in fear, but when the fire didn't burn them, but tickled them, they laughed.

When the fire died down, the two blue spheres were floating in the air, now bright red as if hot from the flames. They bobbed up and down in the air for a moment, distracting everyone so no one noticed that the Marauders had disappeared. The spheres started to glow brighter and brighter red as they also grew in size.

Before anyone could react, the two spheres exploded and from inside the spheres fireworks burst out and zipped around the room, exploding, whizzing, zooming around, and whistling louder. They all stayed over the students' heads though.

As the students watched the colorful and loud explosions, the Marauders were kneeling behind the teacher's table, playing with a tube that they were setting up. Before the last firework even finished, James lit the tube with water and the four men jumped away.

The tube almost immediately exploded and from it shot out a giant gold and red dragon that flew all around the Great Hall two times before it moved to the center of the of the ceiling and floated in the air for a moment, looking down at the curious students.

Without warning, the dragon burst into six smaller dragons and swooped down onto students in different areas and exploded apart into water that soaked all the students.

When it was over, the Marauders each jumped onto the teacher's table, ignoring the cries of shock from the professors.

"And now, our leave must come!" Sirius said, almost sounding sad at the thought of leaving. "These past seven years have been amazing. We all made amazing friends and had a blast studying."

Remus snorted.

"Well, not really." Sirius corrected.

"_Shouldn't you be studying?" McGonagall asked. _

"_Studying? Me?" A first year Sirius asked innocently. _

"_Yes, Mr. Black. It's what you do when you want to learn." McGonagall replied. _

_James leaned on the table. "We want to learn? Since when?"_

"_This is study hall, boys. It's where you study, not play tic-tac-toe." McGonagall said, snatching up their game. "Crack open a book and study. How about Transfiguration since you have that big exam tomorrow? If you don't, you will regret it later." _

_As she walked away, she heard two groans behind and the sound of books open. _

"Yes, the real fun came from driving our dear professors insane!" James shouted, grinning widely. "Especially our dear Minnie!" He waved cheekily at McGonagall. "Of all my professor, I think I will miss you the most of all, Professor McGonagall!"

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" McGonagall screeched. _

_James blinked and smiled at his professor. "Hey Professor Minnie!"_

"_Mr. Potter, what do you think you are doing?" McGonagall demanded, staring up at her second year who was hanging upside down on his broom in the Entrance hall with water balloons floated around him. _

_The blacked haired boy laughed. "Exactly what it looks like, Professor!" He gave his wand a little wave and one of the water balloons zoomed towards an unsuspecting Slytherin who just came out of the dungeon. _

"_Mr. Potter!" McGonagall yelled. "That is enough! Now get down here before you fall and crack your head open!"_

"_Aww, I always knew you cared." _

"You've helped us so much, Professor. You were always there to mentor and scold us just when we needed it. We couldn't have grown up into who we are today without you." Peter added, smiling brightly at her.

"_What were you boys thinking?" McGonagall shouted at the four third years standing in front of her. _

"_I was thinking the Slytherins would look better wearing pink." James piped up. _

_Peter snickered. _

"_It's bad enough you play those pranks on a regular basis, but in the middle of a Quidditch match?" McGonagall growled, giving the boys a dangerous glare that made them shy back a bit. "You distracted the players with that prank. You were lucky none of them were hurt!"_

_Sirius snorted. "Would it have really been that much a shame?"_

"_Yes! You do not want to injure your classmates, Mr. Black. You would have deeply regretted it!" McGonagall said. _

"_I doubt that." Sirius muttered. _

"_And you, Mr. Lupin." McGonagall turned her stern glare to Remus. "I expected better from you. You should have known the dangers of this prank and stopped your friends from doing it." _

_Remus looked down at his shoes. _

"_And you, Mr. Pettigrew." McGonagall looked at the last one. "Why did you go along with this?"_

_Peter glanced at his friends. _

"_You shouldn't go along with everything your friends do. They are not always going to be right in their actions." McGonagall scolded. _

"We know that we have driven you up the wall with our crazy antics, but we all know you still love us!" Remus said, grinning at his professor at the students laugh and McGonagall tried to stay looking stern.

"_Mr. Lupin! What is this I hear from Madam Pomfrey about you frequently coming to the Hospital Wing for a tube of burn cream every two weeks?" McGonagall asked as she approached the first year sitting on a random staircase and reading _

_The young werewolf looked up at his professor with wide eyes before looking back down at the book held tightly in his hands, which were sloppily bandaged. _

_Sighing, McGonagall kneeled down in front of her student. "Mr. Lupin, what is it? Why are your hands bandaged?"_

_Remus rubbed the back of one of his hands. He ducked his hand as his cheeks flamed with a blush. "I-it's the silverware, ma'am." _

_McGonagall looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened and she looked back at the boy's hands. "Why didn't you speak up about the silver burning you sooner?"_

_Remus shrugged. "I didn't want to be a bother." _

"_Mr. Lupin, you are not a bother." McGonagall said firmly. "It's the job of the teachers to take care of their students." _

"_You can't fix this." Remus whispered, picking at his bandages. _

"_Of course we can." McGonagall replied. "We'll just change the type of metal we use in our silverware. Mr. Lupin, if you ever have a problem, just come speak with me, I'll do whatever I must to make your time at Hogwarts safe and comfortable. I don't want you torturing your hands just to appear normal." _

"And so, before we leave," James said, crouching down on the table and pulled a folded handkerchief out of his pocket. "We want to give you this." He held it out to his Professor. When McGonagall just stared at it, James laughed. "I know what you're thinking, it's a nice handkerchief, but that isn't the gift. The gift is inside."

McGonagall took the handkerchief from her Gryffindor and gently opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver brooch with four red gems on it. There were at the top while the last one was at the bottom. **[1]**

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall!" Four voices cried.

And without waiting for a reply, James stood up and raised his wand to the ceiling. "And now." He said and his friends raised their wands as well.

"Accio broom!" Four voices cried together.

Four brooms zipped into the Great Hall and to their owners, who each caught them. They swung themselves onto the brooms and kicked off into the air. They zoomed around the room above the house tables. They all fired random spells as they flew, which hit random students. The students fell down laughing, had their hair changed to random and crazy colors, their clothes transfigured, and spells hit the food dishes, sending them flying the air first before the flipped and spilled all over the tables and students. Maple syrup and pumpkin juice covered the students. Other students had pancakes or French Toast resting on their heads or shoulders.

"MARAUDERS!"

Laughing, the Marauders zipped higher in the air. Sirius and Remus crossed paths just as sparks started to fly out of their wands. Remus's sparks swirled and twisted to form an elegant red and gold snapping sparks 'M' in the air while Sirius's sparks circled the 'M' until it reached the bottom of it where the sparks began to twist and swirl as they head to the ground.

As they were doing that, James and Peter shot spells at the ceiling to make it rain inside the Great Hall so it would flood as the doors were closed.

When Remus and Sirius were finished they pulled their brooms away from their creation and James shot another spell at the created storm clouds. From the clouds, a lightning bolt rained down on the sparkling 'M.' It traveled down the 'M' causing it to glow brighter and brighter until it burst into a million tiny pieces of confetti.

Some of the confetti rained gently down and floated in the water, but other pieces that hit the steadily growing pool, transformed into ducks or frogs while other pieces sizzled away into nothing.

As their classmates cheered and the teachers looked on impressed, the four boys flew down and towards the doors. The four boys pointed their wands at the doors and with a silent spell the doors burst open and the boys raced out with the rushing water.

And as Sirius raced after his friends on his own broom, he bellowed over his shoulder at his Head of House, "I REGRET NOTHING!"

**A/N: Since we couldn't reveal the map's password, I changed it a bit to 'I promise I'm up to no good.' Not as cool as the password, but what works works. **

**[1] Basically the brooch she wears in the movies. **

**Please Review!**


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